Stuck
by isayamazing
Summary: What if Alice and Edward were wrongly committed into a mental institution for their powers? AU, all human, a little slow at first but gets better!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Twilight. If I did, I would be very happy and very cool**

_What a handsome boy. It's such a shame he's here. Oh, the things I would do to him if I could…_

The nurse tending to me proceeded to imagine the two of us in a plethora of sexual positions that could only result from extensive study of the Kama Sutra (and a couple of years of yoga). I shuddered. She was only a few years older than me, but she had caked on makeup and wore her clothing at least two sizes too small. Disgusting.

"I can hear you! Don't you dare think of me like that!"

The orderly looked at me. "Edward, you're just imagining things. Did you take your medicine today?"

I nodded my head. "Yes Nurse Mallory, I did." The truth was that I had shoved those pills under my mattress the second the nurses were out of the room. I knew I didn't need it- I wasn't crazy.

_He couldn't possibly know what I was thinking, right? He's schizophrenic- he's just being paranoid._

I knew I wasn't. I wasn't schizophrenic- I was telepathic. No one believed me though. My own parents didn't. They had finally committed me after I started high school. Before then, I had gone to a small private school, where I had been able to block out the few minds that surrounded me each day. However, the public high school, with its 4,500 minds all crammed into one building, had made that luxury impossible. . I hadn't been able to take it- all those voices coming at me at once, each with their own idiotic problems that took up residence in my head. It was no wonder I broke down.

However, now I was stuck in a prison I couldn't escape from- the prison of the mental institution my parents had forced me into three years ago. I didn't know what I could do. The voices were real, so the pills didn't help, and everyone just kept talking, kept thinking horrible thoughts that wouldn't leave me and my mind alone.

In between a rock and a hard place indeed

**So, this is my first fan-fiction story- please review and tell me if I should pursue this. Thank you!**


	2. Alice

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephanie Meyer. If only...**

Tick tock tick tock tick tock

Each night I tried to fall asleep, but the ticking of the clock made it nearly impossible. I didn't know where this clock was. Even after I tore out all the possible suspects in my room, I could still hear it.

Tick Tock

I looked over at my small digital alarm clock- the silent one that made no noise. 1:07. If Alice were awake, she would soon be sneaking out of her room and into mine. She knew I would be awake.

Alice had come to this horrible place about two years after I had. Like me, she didn't belong here. She was psychic, and, like me, her gift had been misunderstood as mental illness. Alice had told me that her parents were afraid of her. She didn't know which was more frightening to them- their daughter believing things that were not real, or their daughter actually being able to see the future.

As her visions continued to come true, and they became more and more upsetting, her parents finally sent her away. That was a year ago, and since then, they had not visited her once. Even worse, they had forbidden the hospital staff from letting visitors come to see Alice. This was especially difficult on her- she had a boyfriend, Jasper, who she had been with basically since she was born. When I had asked her about it, and how she could know if someone was the one for her even she had never been with anyone else, she just smiled at me. I had seen it in her mind; she was absolutely sure about their relationship. I knew it was killing her to be apart from him.

I remembered the day I had first met Alice. It was free time, and I was just sitting in my usual broken down chair when this tiny pixie-like creature had bounced over to me. I remember being startled by her, for she had been the strangest person I had ever seen. She was tiny, tinier than most sixth graders, and yet she possessed such an energy about her that made it impossible to overlook her. She was also incredibly beautiful, like an old-fashioned china doll, with cheekbones that were accentuated by her shaved head. She later told me that she had done it in a fit of protest when she found out she was going to an insane asylum. Her parents had loved her hair, and, since she was losing what she loved, her boyfriend, she wanted them to suffer too.

Anyway, she had bounced over to me and immediately sat on the arm of my chair. That was startling. At the asylum, there was an unspoken code of personal space. No one went within four feet of one another unless they had to. Otherwise, there was a risk of anything from unanticipated drool to physical assault. Not only that, but she had hugged me. No one had hugged me since I had been there, not even my parents when they had come to visit.

She smiled at me. "I'm Alice. I heard about you from some of the other patients. They say you can read minds?"

I remember I had gotten mad at her. "Look, if you're just here to make fun of me, just go away. I get enough wisecracks from the nurses."

"No, no, no!" She said quickly. "I believe you! You're like me- you're special."

I could see in her mind that she was telling the truth. However, in between her thoughts of _I'm so excited, I can't believe I met someone else like me_, something weird happened. It was a vision of one of my least favorite nurses tripping and falling flat on the floor. Weird.

I looked up, and at that exact second, I heard a yelp. The nurse that I had just seen in that vision, the one who I disliked, was about to fall onto the floor after tripping over a book. I ran up, and caught her just before she fell. "Thank you Edward." She smiled at me. _Oh, those eyes, they are hypnotic. I wish John looked like this, instead of being so fat. His arms are so buff and nice. I wish he would hold me just a little longer._

I nearly dropped her when I heard her thoughts. Ew.

I walked back over to Alice. She smiled at me. "See, I'm special, just like you. You can read minds, and I can see the future. I think we will make a good team."

And we did. We were able to get away with so much around that hellhole. We snuck out together at night, going to walk the grounds away from prying minds. The grounds wee the only good thing about this place. They spanned several acres, and included a lake and a gazebo. It was nice out there; the voices would get dimmer and dimmer, and I could almost pretend I was normal.

That night was no different than any other. At exactly 1:11, our favorite time, I opened the door. Alice, of course, was standing outside. We had both long since gotten used to having doors opened by the other without any warning.

Even though it was a year later, Alice was still the same little bundle of energy she had been a year ago. Her hair had started to grow back, but it was still pretty short. However, now it was stylish. I don't know how Alice had done it. Somehow she had convinced one of the male interns to buy her hair and makeup supplies on the side. She could be quite convincing when she wanted to.

She was more excited than usual. I kept seeing it in her mind- in between thoughts of _Oh my God Oh My God Oh My God_, a face kept popping up.

A girl with long, brown hair, pale skin, and the most delicious blush warming her cheeks.

**Hey so I hope you guys like this- this is more than I've ever written for something non school related. If you like it, or hate it, or whatever, please review and make me happy:-)**


	3. Family ties

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, and I don't own Twilight. Sad.**

**Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing and adding this story to their alert list! I really appreciate it! Hopefully, this chapter will answer some of your questions**

"Alice, what in god's name is going on? Who's the girl?"

At that point, Alice barreled into the room excitedly.

"I don't know! I keep seeing her in visions! It's actually kinda funny, she's falling all over the place in them."

Alice was getting more and more excited as she talked. She had started to wave her hands up and down, which I knew was one short step from bouncing up and down the walls.

In that moment, I was reminded of the Bichon Frisé my mother used to have. Whenever she would get excited, she would start running back and forth really fast, until she either was given a treat or a walk. Blitzing, my mom called it. That seemed to fit Alice at that moment.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. I wished I had a treat to give Alice.

"Alice, if you don't calm down, we are going to get caught! I can already hear some of the people stirring!"

She giggled.

"No, we aren't going to get caught. We are going to talk for 37 minutes, and then I will run out of here, narrowly missing Jen the night nurse and ending up in my bed just before she checks in on me for the night."

I hated her logic. I wanted her to calm down. But once she had had a vision, she was resolute in her actions. And, of course, I had to follow, because I knew the visions to be true. I could see it.

And who would be crazy enough to bet against a psychic?

"Okay then, if we only have 37 minutes, then you need to calm down and tell me everything you saw."

Alice proceeded to tell me what she had seen. It wasn't all in words; it was interspersed with memories of the visions she had had. We had gotten used to this type of conversation; it was useful in a place where your every move was watched.

The visions had started earlier that night. At first, they were just of the girl, walking and then tripping on nothing at all. Then the background started to become clearer. She was in our hospital, and on our grounds. One in particular stuck out in my mind. She was sitting in my chair, the broken down one, the one everyone knew never to touch, as if she belonged there. We speculated as to who she was.

"Edward, I think she's going to be a big part of our lives. The last time I did, I met you." Alice beamed at me. "I hope she become friends with us!"

I lacked Alice's optimism.

"Alice, if she's here, then she is one of two things: She either works for the hospital, and therefore cannot be trusted not to run to the administration, or she is a patient, which means she suffers from one of the wondrous mental disorders that landed everyone else here."

She huffed at me. _What about the Cullens?_ The faces of a model-beautiful couple flashed through her mind.

I had to admit she had a point there. Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife, Esme, had only been at the hospital for a few weeks, but they had already garnered a following. Carlisle was the new psychiatrist, and, although I had not had a session with him yet, I had heard rave reviews in the minds of his patients. He seemed nice enough though- not condescending like many of the staff here.

Esme was just as loved. I had heard rumors that she could not have children, and, as a result, she treated each of the patients like one of her own. Whenever she was on duty as my nurse, she always made a point to have a conversation with me about whatever music I was into that week. It was like she knew I didn't belong there.

"Okay, but the Cullens are two out of what, 75 staff members? That's a pretty poor ratio of good to evil."

I saw no retort in her mind, and knew I had won. It was not often that that happened, so I always savored the rare occurrences.

The conversation turned to the upcoming visiting day the next week.

Alice knew she wouldn't have visitors. Her parents were afraid of her, and communicated with her through infrequent phone calls that always began with her telling them how she had predicted their call. Sometime I think that she did that just to spite them.

My mother was coming, and, although I doubted it highly, my father was supposed to be joining her. I knew what would happen. My mother would tell me that he had an urgent meeting, an appointment that "just couldn't be missed," but I knew the truth. He was ashamed. He didn't want to believe that his son could be at a place like this, so he had started to believe his own lies of his son's intensive year-round boarding school that kept him away from home for the majority of the year.

In fact, I hadn't seen my father for a year and a half. It was my sixteenth birthday, and they had made the drive up from Chicago to the remote outreaches of Wisconsin where the institution was located.

Before then, my mom had visited each month, but my father was rarely able to go with her. Being a partner at the law firm of Rosenbaum, Stein, Masen, and associates, he usually claimed that he had too much work to do. It had surprised me that he had come up for my birthday; he hadn't spent one with me since I was five and he had taken me to the zoo. I had had a thing for the mountain lions back then.

That birthday had been interesting. My parents had been extremely on edge. I didn't blame them. I had glared at them the entire time, with all the hate I could muster. They were my parents, but instead of taking care of me, they had shipped me away when I had needed them most. How could I trust them?

My mother's thoughts had relayed their concern for me, even if they didn't show it. _How could he look at us like that? Doesn't he know that we did this so he would have the best life possible?_

I had smirked when I heard that one. The best life possible would have been my parents helping me with this strange anomaly of a mind I possessed, rather than shipping me off to a place in the middle of nowhere with people who cared more about going home at the end of the day, rather than doing their job as well as they possibly could.

My father's thoughts were more blunt and to the point. _Why isn't he fixed yet? They keep saying that he still believes he can read minds, but shouldn't they have cured him by now? Why does he keep staring at me that way? It's creepy. _

_Why can't he just be normal already? Why does he have to be such a freak?_

That had driven me over the edge. My father's entire life was devoted to the cult of normalcy. A normal job that made lots of money, a normal wife who would overlook his indiscretions and put on a happy face for the world, a normal house where other normal people would congregate for completely normal parties. I was the only missing piece to that puzzle; I was not the normal son who would reflect well on him. Instead, I was the freak, the boy who claimed to hear voices.

I had knocked the table over when I heard my father call me a freak, and just walked away. My mother had followed after me, puzzled, but my father had stayed put. No doubt giving an explanation of clumsiness to the waiting staff and other diners.

My mom caught up with me in the parking lot. She grabbed my shoulders and looked at me. "Honey, what was that in there?"

I glared at her.

"I don't care what you two think- I'm not crazy! I may be a freak, but I'm not imagining things! If you actually tried to spend time with me instead of just sending me away at the earliest possible convenience, you would know that!"

I could hear the confusion in her thoughts. However, her words came out straight and clear.

"Honey, we just want you to get better! Hearing voices- that's not normal! You aren't hearing people's thoughts, and we want you to realize that!"

"You know what- FINE. Just leave me there, then! Please, don't come back until you're ready to listen to me!"

And they didn't. I hadn't seen my parents since that day a year and a half ago. My mom still called me every week, to see how I was doing, but there was no more talk on either side of visits. I could tell that she wanted to, but my father had probably convinced her that it was better to leave me there until the doctor said I was better.

I snapped back to reality, and Alice's thoughts informed me that she would have to get going. It was nearly 37 minutes since she arrived, and I could hear the night nurse roaming the halls.

With a quick hug, Alice bounced out of the room. I went back to my bed, and went to sleep.

I dreamed of the brown-haired girl.

**Please review! It makes me immensely happy AND inspires me to write more**


	4. Bella

**So, I am experiencing extreme writer's block at the moment. This chapter took me so long to do! Sorry if it sucks- it's more of a means to an end. Thanks to my amazing friend David for looking over my story and giving me ideas. You are my hero.**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. Tant Pis.**

I woke up the next morning with my heart pounding and my body covered with sweat. Lingering images of last night's dreams wandered through my head.

In these dreams the brown-haired girl and I were lying in a meadow. Our skin was shining in the sun, as if we were made out of diamonds. Our hands were intertwined, and an incredible warmth spread all over my body.

She turned to face me, and said the sweetest sound escaped her lips. "Edward…"

I leaned in to her face, her plump lips coming closer and closer to mine. Our lips were so close, and they were almost touching when…

I woke up. Of course.

Breakfast was a subdued affair. I could tell that Alice had had more visions, but she was blocking them from me by doing the times tables in her heads. It was annoying me to no end, but I couldn't question her about it in front of the nurses. When I gave her a look, she just told me _Later_.

After breakfast was tutoring for those whose mental state allowed it. Usually, this was just Alice and myself. They had a teacher come in each morning, but we had long since learned everything she had to teach us. Most days, we just chose whatever topics we wanted to learn about that day and ran with it. Alice was halfway through AP German, while I was concentrating on college level chemistry.

As we were studying our respective subjects, I glared at Alice at every possible chance. However, she had put up a wall in her head, comprised with bricks of German verb conjugations. Stupid pixie and her mind tricks.

It was around lunchtime when I began to hear a change in the staff's thoughts. Instead of their usual petty thoughts concerning hospital gossip and happy hours plans, I saw plans and speculations about new patient.

…_I hope that she doesn't try and hurt me, last time that happened…_

…_Catatonic patients are the easy ones, I can't believe Esme got that…_

…_Hope she's hot, maybe I can at least get eye candy out of it…_

Rather than letting them overwhelm me, I allowed these thoughts into my head. I wanted to learn everything there was to know about this girl.

This desire took me by surprise. I had never wanted to connect with another human being before. Yes, I had Alice, but it was she who sought out my company, making my effort towards starting the friendship virtually nonexistent.

As the day went on, I did everything I could to catch a glance of the mysterious girl. I lurked around the corridor she was rooming in until a pesky nurse caught me. She chastised me heavily, threatening me with sedation and isolation if I didn't leave immediately.

It was not until the next morning that I finally saw her. It was breakfast time, and Alice and I were eating alone, as we usually did. I was unable to block out the voices of the entire hospital at one time, so, after several major breakdowns during mealtime, the administration had made a special concession for Alice and me and allowed us to eat in the empty hall after everyone else had finished.

We were just digging into our place of soggy French toast when the door slammed open. Standing in the doorway was Nurse Mallory and a girl- the brown haired girl that I had been dreaming about for the past two nights.

She was more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Her skin was a pale milky white, with color only appearing in her cheeks. Her lips were plump and luscious, and her dark mahogany hair trailed lazily over her shoulders.

The longer I looked at her, the more I realized that she didn't seem to be entirely present. Although she walked to the table with no help from the nurse, her feet just seemed to be following in the footsteps of the nurse ahead of her.

Nurse Mallory sat the girl at our table and turned to us. "Alice, Edward, meet Bella. She's going through a hard time right now, and so is going to be staying here for a while. She isn't talking much right now, but we're hoping to change that."

I looked at Bella. She was just staring at the table, seemingly never blinking. She didn't seem to feel the heat of my gaze on her, like anyone else would.

Alice was bouncing up and down now, just waiting to start talking to the girl. I could see visions of the two together in her mind: late night talks, forced makeovers, all the things I wouldn't let Alice do to me.

I could see that Alice was convinced of the inevitability of her visions, but I was not sure. Bella seemed like an empty husk, a mere shell of a girl. She hadn't moved her eyes from the same spot on the table since she had arrived.

I noticed something strange then. I had been so caught up in the physical aspects of Bella's arrival that I hadn't paid attention the swarm of voices that was my constant companion. When they encompassed me again I realized that a voice was missing. The nurses' snarky comments were there, as was Alice's visions of possible tomorrows, but there was a void that Bella's mind should have filled.

Was she so empty inside that she didn't think anymore? What was wrong with this girl?

**Please Review! Constructive criticism is needed and definitely appreciated!**


	5. Maybe

**So, new chapter. This was really hard to write, because, I realized, I had to eventually put a plot in this story. Bear with me; It's going somewhere. **

**Thank you to Twilight-day-every-day- your reviews have been really helpful!**

**Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer. Tant Pis.**

I couldn't stop thinking of Bella the rest of the day.

Alice noticed I was distracted, so, during our free time, she dragged me off to an empty corner of the game room.

"I saw you looking at her, Edward. Spill it, now."

"What are you talking about, Alice?

"Oh, don't play innocent with me, Edward. You. Like. Her. It's cute- she obviously needs someone to look at her the way you do."

"Wha...no…I don't like her! She's just…different from anyone I've ever met. Besides, she's obviously in no state to be with anyone. She's catatonic!"

"So? She'll get out of it. That's why she's here."

"No, it runs deeper than that Ali. I couldn't hear her thoughts. She's so out of it that she doesn't even think anymore!"

Alice frowned. "No, that's not it. You ever think that maybe you just can't read her mind?"

I glared at her. "Alice, I have never encountered someone whose mind I can't read. If she's having any thoughts at all, I can read them. She's just a robot, doing whatever anyone tells her. She didn't even look at us when she was at breakfast! She just sat there staring at the table."

"Edward, I think you're wrong. I keep seeing visions of you two together, and she's definitely not a shell in them. Just try to talk to her or something!"

"Alice, it doesn't matter. She's not going to react to it. It'll be like talking to a houseplant!"

"Yes, but they say that you should talk to your houseplants every once in a while. It makes them grow faster!"

I huffed. Alice was so annoyingly persistent sometimes. I knew that if I didn't give in to her now, she would beg me until I caved to her demands. It would be easier just to give in now and spare her wrath. "Fine, but only because you forced me. She's not going to respond!"

"Yay!" Alice jumped up and gave me a big hug.

"Ok, just don't burst on me here. We don't want them to think you're hyperactive as well as schizophrenic."

In order to shut Alice up, I stood up, and walked to the chair that Bella was sitting in. She was in the rocking chair that faced the window, looking out over the gardens with a blank expression on her face. Her head was facing the garden, but I could tell that she wasn't really seeing anything at all.

"Hey Bella. How are you?"

She didn't give me any sign she heard me.

"You remember me from breakfast? You sat with me and Alice at breakfast this morning. I'm Edward."

Nothing. I knew it was hopeless. I started to walk away, but I intercepted a death glare from Alice. _Turn around and keep trying!_

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. Alice was sure to be the death of me.

I pulled up a rocking chair and sat down next to Bella. I had no idea what to say, so out blurted out the first extremely idiotic thing that came to my mind.

"How about them Cubs? Think they might make it to the World Series this year?"

No response. I could still sense nothing from her mind. I started to get nervous. That was stupid; why should I be nervous? She obviously wasn't with it. The only sign that was alive came from her pincer-like grip of her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Ok, that was stupid. My dad always says that when there's a lull in the conversation. We're from Chicago, and my dad is a big baseball fan. He has season tickets and everything. I don't really like baseball though. I would always make up excuses whenever he asked me to go."

Why was I still talking?

Thankfully, Esme came over and saved me.

"Edward, why don't you play the piano for Bella?

_Edward seems so nervous…maybe the piano will help him calm down. He seems so happy when he plays. It's so cute- first love is so wonderful to see._

I was grateful for Esme's suggestion. I was crashing on the conversation front, and needed to escape to a territory I was familiar with. However, I felt a little unnerved by her assumption. I didn't like Bella like that- I hadn't even had a real conversation with her!

Esme seemed happy with the concept though, so I decided to overlook it. "That's a wonderful suggestion, Esme. I think I'll do that. Will you lead Bella over there for me?"

She smiled. "Of course."

As soon as I sat down at the piano, I felt a wave of calm wash over me. I started to play some Debussy.

I felt a weight in the bench, but I ignored it. The song was what mattered right now.

As I started to play Claire de Lune, a thought drifted across my head.

_Oh my God! I have never seen Bella react like that!_

I looked over at my bench partner, and I was greeted with a beautiful sight. Bella was smiling. It was not a big smile, but it definitely was there.

She looked completely different. She didn't look like the shell she was a few minutes before. Her face was lit up, like a child opening a present on Christmas morning.

I knew, then and there, that I would do anything to keep that smile on her face. Maybe Esme was right. Maybe it was love.

Maybe it didn't have to be named. Maybe I could just spend the rest of my life sitting on this bench next to Bella, my Bella, playing music and watching that glorious smile growing across her beautiful face.

If only it were that easy.

**Please make my night and review. Yay reviewing!**


	6. Dr Cullen

**So, sadly, I have not been getting many reviews. It saddens me immensely, because how can I know if my story is any good if no one is giving me any feedback? Anyway, I am leaving for camp for two months, so I hope that this will tide you over. **

**Disclaimer: Not Stephenie Meyer. Too bad**

I played for Bella for as long as I could. However, the afternoon grew later, and soon I had to go to my therapy session.

I walked to my usual room, where a surprise was waiting for me; instead of my usual Dr. Gerandy, there sat Dr. Cullen. He stood up when I came in, and shook my hand, like I was a real person, not just a crazy nut in an insane asylum

"Hello Edward. I'm Dr. Cullen. Dr. Gerandy had too many patients on his watch, so I am taking a few off his hands."

_I've heard interesting things about this one. I wonder if he will live up to the hype?_

I smirked. If I was going to be having sessions with this man from now until I withered away in this dreary place, I might as well show him what he was working with.

"I assure you, Dr. Cullen, I will live up to the hype."

_That was weird. It was almost like…_

"Like I could read your thoughts?"

Dr. Cullen stared at me, his face frozen into a mask of shock.

_Can you hear me right now?_

"Of course I can. You actually believe me?"

_Well, considering my half of this conversation has occurred without me opening my mouth, it aroused my suspicions that you were telling the truth. Tell me, so I can be sure, what number am I thinking of? 47, 47, 47, 47…._

"47."

Dr. Cullen gaped at me. "This is absolutely fascinating. How has no one else realized that you were telling the truth?"

"No one ever took the time to notice. It was easier for them to believe that there was something wrong with me rather than realizing I could actually hear what they were thinking. But, now that you have, you see I'm not crazy, and that I don't belong here. Can I go home now?"

I stood up and started to walk towards the door, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Edward, sit down. I'm afraid that we still have a lot of work to do here, even if it's different work than I originally expected."

_I wonder if this qualifies as some sort of anxiety disorder, or maybe something completely new?_

"Dr. Cullen, what are you talking about?" I was getting impatient. Why couldn't I leave?

"Well, Edward, it seems that while you don't have schizophrenia, you do have issues that would prevent you from interacting successfully with large groups of people. I believe you ended up in here after your first day of high school, correct?"

I nodded. I never thought about that day if I could. However, it was a black mark on my mind that, no matter how hard I tried, would never disappear entirely.

"Can you try to tell me what happened that day?"

I froze for a minute. Was I really ready to tell someone what had happened that day, why I had done what I did?

I had to. However hard it was for me, it would be the first time someone could see why I reacted that way, what had driven me over the edge. For the first time, I was ready to let someone understand, instead of hiding those memories in the back of my head for the rest of my life.

"Okay."

_Flashback: Three years ago, Edward's first day at high school. _

I woke up that morning apprehensive for the nightmare that awaited me.

I had gone to a small private school every year before then, with a class of only 15 other students. However, my parents had decided that it would be better for me if I socialized with more than the same 15 kids I had known since I was 5.

I had begged and pleaded with my family to let me stay at my old school. I had been comfortable there. No, comfortable had not been the right word. It had been easy for me to be by myself. The other 15 kids had grouped together into their own elitist cliques, allowing me to spend my time alone- just the way I wanted it.

I had known since I was younger that I had been younger that I had a special gift. I could read the minds of others around me. However, my parents had never believed me when I said I could, even when I had successfully read their minds. Instead, they had let me be alone, playing the piano for hours on end.

However, after my 14th birthday, that changed. They had become worried that I was becoming too secluded from the outside world, so they chose to send me to a public high school on Chicago's north shore.

When I arrived at the school that first morning, I could already sense something was amiss. However, I immediately shoved that worry to the back of my mind, attributing it to first day jitters. After all, this was high school.

However, when I walked through those doors, I was immediately overcome with thoughts. They weren't my own though

_I hope I have Cohen for history. He is so hot…_

_What a bitch! How could she write that about me on myspace…_

_God, look at that ass! She sure improved over the summer…_

_I itch a lot down there- can you really get an STD the first time…_

More and more, coming all at me at once. Everywhere I turned, new thoughts were being crammed into my head, each more vile and horrible than the last.

I couldn't even tell where they were coming from. Was the middle-aged teacher the one ogling over the slutty girl with the terribly tight skirt? Was the girl with the big glasses who was surreptitiously itching her crotch the one with an STD?

I put my hands over my ears, but it did nothing to block out the sounds. I ran to the bathroom in the hall closest to me, hoping to get away from the noise. But it only got worse.

_Yay season premier tonight! I can't wait to see what…._

_Maybe she'll finally give it up tonight…_

_Is that a zit…_

I started to scream as loud as I possibly could, in the vain attempt of blocking out the sound. Nothing.

I couldn't take it.

"And that was the last thing I remembered. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed."

"Edward, you rammed your head into the bathroom mirror until you passed out. You were lucky you hadn't done any serious brain damage. What were you trying to do?"

"I don't know…I think that maybe I was trying to get the voices out of my head, you know?"

"Edward, it seems that what we have to achieve here is control over your gift."

I smirked at that.

"Edward, despite what you may think, this is a gift. We just have to figure out how to prevent it from overwhelming you. It appears that the measures they have taken here- separating you at mealtimes, giving you a special tutor- have just exacerbated the situation. Now, I think the first stage you need to accomplish is sitting with everyone at mealtimes. You think you can do that?"

I nodded. That seemed easy enough.

"Okay, well, we are done for the day, but I will check in with you tomorrow and see how that worked out, okay?"

"Okay Dr. Cullen. Thank you very much."

"Just doing my job, Edward. I'll see you tomorrow."

Oddly enough, I felt refreshed after the session. Dr. Cullen was genuinely a good guy. However, no sooner had I walked out the room that I heard screaming. It sounded like someone was being murdered.

_I guess something set her off_

_Jeez, what the hell is going on there_

_I hope Bella is alright._

As soon as I heard Bella's name, I knew that something was horribly, horribly wrong.

I ran.

**Ooo cliffie! I have been thinking about how I would leave this before I left for camp for TWO MONTHS!! I'm evil, I know. **

**Please review so I will have lots of happy mail when I return from wrangling children!**


	7. Fear

**Okay, so I know I said that I was done updating until I went to camp, but I lied. I was so excited by people's responses that I was motivated to update. Now, this TRULY should be the last one for two months. Sorry people!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, and I own NOTHING**

As I came upon the hallway where I knew Bella's room to be, I saw what seemed to be every member of hospital personnel crammed into one small space. A mix of thoughts and words flooded my head.

"Get the gurney over here, stat!"

_God dammit, I just cleaned this room. I'm going to have to stay here overtime…_

"I need a sedative over here!"

_How has she not passed out yet? She just keeps screaming…_

_Shit, why won't she stopped._

Finally, after wading through the thoughts, I caught a vision of Bella in one of their minds.

Bella, with her wrists slit, blood pouring over her hands.

Bella being forcibly restrained onto a gurney, screaming at the stop of her lungs.

I stayed there for as long as I could. However, someone soon saw me.

"Get out of here, kid! Get back to your room!"

I ran around the corner and crouched down, just far enough so I wouldn't be yelled at, but close enough so I could still hear what was going on.

As I waited around the corner, I began to get a clearer picture of what had happened. Apparently Bella had broken open a pencil sharpener and used the blade in there to…

No. I couldn't think about that. I just had to think about my poor, sweet Bella, and hope t hat she was okay. She had to be. I couldn't even think about the alternative.

I crouched there until I was sure Bella had been taken out of there. Then, I ran to Alice's room.

She opened the door before I could knock. When I saw her, all my fear and all my anger poured out into a very loud rant.

"Why didn't you warn me this was going to happen Alice? Where you just going to let it happen rather than have people think you're a freak? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Edward, calm down! If you keep yelling, the nurse is going to come. Get in here."

She pulled me into her room; for a tiny pixie, she was surprisingly strong.

"Edward, I.."

I cut her off before she could give me her pathetic excuse for an apology.

"Alice, how could you keep this from me. You may have killed her! How could you be so…"

"EDWARD! SHUT UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN!"

My mouth was open, but no words came out. I had never heard Alice raise her voice before.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD HAVE KEPT THIS FROM YOU? OF COURSE I WOULDN'T! WHY WOULD I LET BELLA DO THIS TO HERSELF? AND, FURTHERMORE, HOW COULD YOU THINK I WOULD BE SO CRUEL! I THOUGHT YOU KNEW ME BETTER THAN THAT!"

I closed my mouth. Alice was scary at that moment. Her face was read, and spittle was flying from her mouth as she yelled.

"I'm sorry Alice. You are right. I am just so scared."

I slumped on the floor, with tears streaming from my eyes. I began to sob uncontrollably, snot running from my nose, my shirt soon becoming wet from all the tears.

Alice sat next to me and pulled me close to her.

"Shhh, shhh, Edward. It'll be okay. She's going to be put into solitary for 5 days, and she won't be allowed to use pencils, but she's going to be fine."

I could see in her mind that she was right; Bella would be okay. Her wrists were wrapped, and her eyes wide, but she was alive, and that's what mattered.

I hadn't realized until that moment that I really did care about her. Even though I had known her for only a few fays, and I had not heard a single word pass from her lips, I couldn't imagine her not being a part of my life.

I was falling in love with Bella.

**Okay, so not as much of a Cliffie as the last one, but still...**

**Hope this tides you for two months while I wrangle children. Please review while I am gone!!**


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